It’s RvB Art Update Day! Luke McKay’s collection grows by two; there’s a comic book cover he created for a friend, and a reenactment of a pretty funny scene in the most recent episode of RvB. Then, over on Elnea’s page, she’s put up a new avatar, this time for PixieSquared. Enjoy!

Podtacular Episode 54 has been released – Tips, with a focus on Midship. Thanks, Fr3d-105.

Rogue Gaming posted a note on our forum about a Halo 2 tourney this weekend, in Pickerington, OH (just outside of Columbus). If you’re in the area, check it out! (Online registration will save you a couple of bucks; link is in the forum post.)

QuaDxDaMag3 points out that MLG PwnCast Episode 6 has been posted; you can grab it in regular mp3 format, or ‘iTunes Enhanced’ m4a video format. (Comes with links to web content, and so on.) Grab the one that works for you.

Tied the Leader has been quiet for a while – busy with clanbuilding. Swing by today, though – there are a couple of new articles up. The first points out teams of cheaters, the second looks at the dangers of getting too involved in gaming. Go read!

Dennis Powers writes to let us know that The Valley of the Forerunners, Part 4 is up for grabs at the Halo CE Chronicles website. 10:23 long, available in WMP9, QuickTime, and streaming Flash formats, as always. Commander Harrington and the marine contingent explore the valley a little bit… and aren’t thrilled with what they find. Go watch!

While you’re at MLG, swing by the Player of the Week section, and check out an interview with Itwasluck. A member of Xit Woundz, Itwasluck can be seen in action in a number of gameplay vids hosted by Halo2Forum.com (search our news for links). Go read the interview, to see how this 18-year-old got to where he is. Thanks again, 3Suns.

Overswarm seems to have taken a break from his Not So Common Sense guide to put some time into articles at MLGPro.com – there’s a great one up right now. It’s called ‘Keeping Your Cool – Anger Management in Gaming‘, and it describes why anger is absolutely NOT an emotion that should be part of your gaming experience. Great advice, and nicely written. Go read. Thanks, 3Suns.

Heh. John Mayer loves Halo – if you’re a long-time visitor, you already know that. emotaku found a short clip on Youtube in which John explains his feelings about the game, and how he wishes it would help him.

Nice. Someone modded their computer case – with a cool Halo 2 theme. There’s an LED bar that simulates the loading progress bar from the game. You can see a couple of photos in the Bungie.net article. Thanks to Spartan Jag for the heads-up.

New Halo sweatshirts at the Bungie Store… and you’re waiting for what? Thanks, Schedonnardus.

Music4Games.net has some solid news on the Halo 2 Volume Two Original Soundtrack – it’ll be available for purchase on April 25th! Fantastic news for everyone waiting for this almost mythical collection… go read the article for more info, including Marty’s philosophy behind this volume. w00t! Update: A little late, but Bungie’s finally posted the press release themselves. Thanks, KP.

Friday, Bungie announced the Halo Graphic Novel, and how it would be published by Marvel. Today, One One Se7en points out a potential downside to that teamup.

I’ve said a few times that I wasn’t going to promote Video Games Live any more… but I’m gonna go back on my word, because this seems pretty cool. We just got a press release announcing a meet-and-greet in San Jose, California this weekend – if you go, you’ll have a chance to meet (among other composers) Marty O’Donnell. If you’re in the area… think about it!

I’ve begun the rather daunting task of thinning out the Miscellaneous Art queue; today, I’m putting up 30 images, which were submitted between December 29 and January 16. The queue is still large; please don’t freak out if you submitted work to us, and it’s not in this batch. I hope to continue clearing tomorrow or the next day. In the meantime… go enjoy this batch.

OXM UK is reporting that the latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly (is it, by any chance, the APRIL issue?) discusses a plan by Bungie to have Halo (the first one) available online on Live Arcade before summer. I’m viewing this one with a MASSIVE salt shaker at my side until (unless) some corroborating evidence surfaces. Thanks, JeBr0nie.

Heh – Rick sent us a pic of his Xbox, doing double duty as a drink smuggling device. (He says it’s still workable; he just took the parts out.) The lengths people won’t go to…

DropShock, the officially NSFW Halo Podcast, released Episode 13 last night. Discussion of comics, name rumors, and Live content. 33 mb, 70 minutes. Go listen!